Frugal Habits – Skip the Juice, Eat the Fruit

We all know that juice is packed with calories. I haven’t come across too many parents who give their kids free reign with regard to juice intake. Juice that is truly juice, 100% fruit juice, has many health benefits as evidenced by the nutrition label on the container with all the vitamins. Juice comes from fruit so what is the harm? It is a processed food that strips away the fiber from a fruit. It is also expensive, (as are all processed foods that claim to be “healthy”). Eating the fruit that juice is made from is much more beneficial than consuming just the juice from the same fruit and it is usually less expensive. I know that someone reading this wants to bring up the fact that some juices are fortified with additional vitamins. If you aren’t eating a well-rounded diet that provides all of your required daily vitamins perhaps your doctor will provide you with a script for a vitamin, (cheaper than over the counter vitamins), otherwise just eat a healthy well-rounded diet of whole foods with natural fibers that will satisfy your hunger without excessive calorie intake (yea, sure, says the sugar addict) and save some bucks on unnecessary juice.

Do my kids drink juice you ask? Sometimes they have orange juice with their breakfast but otherwise we do not buy any other juice keeping the grocery bill down and fruit consumption up. On top of that, juice is a special treat to my kids and is much more appreciated that way.